Short answer
Check the licence first — security services must be licensed in every state. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 950 Australian security services in this directory, only 16.8% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 6% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Security Services handle alarm and CCTV installation, monitoring, access control, intercoms, and guard and patrol services. This is what to check before you let one into your house, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
Security Services must be licensed
Security work is licensed in every state and territory, and that includes installing alarms and cameras as well as guarding: the installer, the technician and the company each need a security licence of the right class. Wiring the system into mains power is electrical work on top of that. A provider who cannot show a security licence is not one you can lawfully use.
Every state publishes a public security licence register through its police or fair trading body. Search the company and the technician who attends.
What 950 Australian security services actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For security services:
| What we checked | Security Services | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 16.8% | 21.5% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 50.3% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 6% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 80.6% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 82.8% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 23 | 39 |
What goes wrong with security services
- An alarm or camera system installed by someone without a security licence
- Monitoring contracts with long terms and automatic renewals buried in the fine print
- Camera placement that records the neighbours or the street, which raises privacy obligations you now carry
What to ask before the work starts
- What is your security licence number, and what class is it?
- What is the monitoring contract term, and how does it end?
- Where exactly will the cameras point, and who holds the footage?
A security provider who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median security provider in this directory has 23 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the security services are
Melbourne (36), Brisbane (26), Perth (24), Sydney (22), Gold Coast (18), Bankstown (17). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best security provider in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do security services need a licence in Australia?
- Yes. Security work is licensed in every state and territory, and that includes installing alarms and cameras as well as guarding: the installer, the technician and the company each need a security licence of the right class. Wiring the system into mains power is electrical work on top of that. A provider who cannot show a security licence is not one you can lawfully use.
- How do I check a security provider's licence?
- Every state publishes a public security licence register through its police or fair trading body. Search the company and the technician who attends.
- What percentage of Australian security services have a verifiable ABN?
- 16.8% of the 950 security services in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.5% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a security provider have?
- The median security provider here has 23. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare security services near you
950 security services, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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